Sunday was the opener for Archery Deer here and Chilly and I had made plans to hunt or scout depending on the weather.
The rain is a drag for hunting with archery as we all know and it rained some during the night, but when Chilly arrived at 5:00AM it was not raining and the bush was dry enough to blood trail.
We chose ladder stands on either side of a small bush adjacent to a field planted in winter wheat. The bush lot is a transition area for the deer coming out of the field in the morning down to the water and I figured if the rain held off we should see deer moving early from either stand.
About a half an hour before legal shooting I saw deer on the road and heard them moving in front of my stand, Chilly informed me later that at that same time two bucks were sparring in the gut across from his stand.
When legal shooting time came it was overcast and threatening and the light was very poor. I checked the scope on the Exomax and I could see well out to about 40 yards but I felt that we were gonna get wet. As the light increased I realized that deer were moving in the grass about 60 yards out in front of my stand, the grass was high and they were using the cover to shield them as they moved into the bush.
Then it started to drizzle, my heart sank this was the opener and we were going to get rained out.... bummer. I kept an eye on the bush and the rain continued very lightly for about five minutes... then about fifteen minutes later I saw that it was soaking the bush enough to make tracking difficult. Once the water is dripping off the underbrush finding a blood trail is next to impossible!
I pressed the call button on the radio and asked Chilly what he thought... he said we should call it... too wet! I agreed and we decided to meet on the high ground at the rail fence and walk out together then we could do some scouting and stand repair at least. I put my scope caps on and put my bolt back in my quiver, lowered my bow and climbed down. I was dejected and walked up to the fenceline to meet Chilly and I looked to up to see some movement at the corner of the rail fence... I first thought it was Chilly but quickly realized it was a deer... and the rain had quit.
Game on... I went into a hunker and used the high grass for cover and scrambled up to the fence line... the damp grass was quiet and perfect for a quick stalk. I went through the fence were it was boken down and dropped all my gear, I took off my scope caps and carefully slid an arrow on the rail and checked my safety. I shouldered my bow and slowly raised my body up over the undergrowth... I saw a buck eating wild grapes off a vine on the corner of the bush. I realized I had dropped my range finder with my gear and thought about ranging the distance... then he looked right at me.
I knew that with in a few moments Chilly would be walking into view of the deer and it would be too late... I also knew that I was right in the middle of a hydro cut that was 100 yards across. I figured the deer was 50 yards away and if I waited the whole deal would go sideways... I stood straight up and made a Baaa! The deer foze and it filled two lines in the scope so 50 yards sounded right I held on his vitals and squeezed... every thing went slow motion for a time. The buck was frozen in time and the arrow almost looked like it was hanging in the air as everything else became non-existent.
The arrow hit the deer just behind the shoulder and he instantly jumped bucked and turned into the field... he ran in a semi circle and entered the bush. I marked the spot and then marked it again to be sure... I saw Chilly appear at 100 yards and he waved and pointed at where the deer entered the bush. I grabbed for my radio and gave him the heads up... we both stopped where we were and waited 15 minutes.
Chilly and I moved quietly toward each other and I went to the spot where the deer was standing, you could clearly see the tracks in the dirt where he had spun and jumped but no blood. I followed the running track into the field and then Chilly waved and pointed at the arrow fletching sticking out of the dirt. I went and picked it up it was covered in blood, it had impacted a good 15 yards past the buck and still had enough energy to bury it into the ground.
The rain was still holding off so we stook our time, and waited in the field where the the deer had entered the bush for another 10 minutes. I took one step into the underbrush at the edge of the field and found blood everywhere, but the bush was wet from the water filtering down from the canopy and I started to second guess my decision to shoot. One more step and more blood, lots of blood, I took a couple of more steps and said told Chilly the blood trail was very heavy and looked good. He was backing me up off to the side with his crowssbow and he said "I think that's a dead deer!".
I admonished him and said "Hey It's not dead till we find it!". Chilly laughed at me and said "Look Red... THATS A DEAD DEER! I looked up to see him pointing at the buck laying about fifteen feet from me.
Chilly stepped to the side and readied his bow while I poked him to make sure.
It was a nice year and a half with a funky little rack just big enough for Chilly to drag him with! We gutted him and found that the arrow had hit the heart but missed the lungs... we ranged the distance after at 54 yards!
It had turned into a good morning after all... and Dean and I went over the mornings events in detail while taking the deer to the butcher. We had both had deer moving around our stands and we were fortunate that the rain and the deer had both cooperated just long enough to ensure our success.
I did shoot what I thought was a fawn after letting the Doe walk by at 6:30 that evening at nine yards from a tree stand... it died immediately and was very anticlimactic compared to the morning hunt. We checked the teeth and it turned out to be a yearling doe... which is something I don't usually do early in the season.
But two deer on the opener was very satisfying to be sure.
The rain is a drag for hunting with archery as we all know and it rained some during the night, but when Chilly arrived at 5:00AM it was not raining and the bush was dry enough to blood trail.
We chose ladder stands on either side of a small bush adjacent to a field planted in winter wheat. The bush lot is a transition area for the deer coming out of the field in the morning down to the water and I figured if the rain held off we should see deer moving early from either stand.
About a half an hour before legal shooting I saw deer on the road and heard them moving in front of my stand, Chilly informed me later that at that same time two bucks were sparring in the gut across from his stand.
When legal shooting time came it was overcast and threatening and the light was very poor. I checked the scope on the Exomax and I could see well out to about 40 yards but I felt that we were gonna get wet. As the light increased I realized that deer were moving in the grass about 60 yards out in front of my stand, the grass was high and they were using the cover to shield them as they moved into the bush.
Then it started to drizzle, my heart sank this was the opener and we were going to get rained out.... bummer. I kept an eye on the bush and the rain continued very lightly for about five minutes... then about fifteen minutes later I saw that it was soaking the bush enough to make tracking difficult. Once the water is dripping off the underbrush finding a blood trail is next to impossible!
I pressed the call button on the radio and asked Chilly what he thought... he said we should call it... too wet! I agreed and we decided to meet on the high ground at the rail fence and walk out together then we could do some scouting and stand repair at least. I put my scope caps on and put my bolt back in my quiver, lowered my bow and climbed down. I was dejected and walked up to the fenceline to meet Chilly and I looked to up to see some movement at the corner of the rail fence... I first thought it was Chilly but quickly realized it was a deer... and the rain had quit.
Game on... I went into a hunker and used the high grass for cover and scrambled up to the fence line... the damp grass was quiet and perfect for a quick stalk. I went through the fence were it was boken down and dropped all my gear, I took off my scope caps and carefully slid an arrow on the rail and checked my safety. I shouldered my bow and slowly raised my body up over the undergrowth... I saw a buck eating wild grapes off a vine on the corner of the bush. I realized I had dropped my range finder with my gear and thought about ranging the distance... then he looked right at me.
I knew that with in a few moments Chilly would be walking into view of the deer and it would be too late... I also knew that I was right in the middle of a hydro cut that was 100 yards across. I figured the deer was 50 yards away and if I waited the whole deal would go sideways... I stood straight up and made a Baaa! The deer foze and it filled two lines in the scope so 50 yards sounded right I held on his vitals and squeezed... every thing went slow motion for a time. The buck was frozen in time and the arrow almost looked like it was hanging in the air as everything else became non-existent.
The arrow hit the deer just behind the shoulder and he instantly jumped bucked and turned into the field... he ran in a semi circle and entered the bush. I marked the spot and then marked it again to be sure... I saw Chilly appear at 100 yards and he waved and pointed at where the deer entered the bush. I grabbed for my radio and gave him the heads up... we both stopped where we were and waited 15 minutes.
Chilly and I moved quietly toward each other and I went to the spot where the deer was standing, you could clearly see the tracks in the dirt where he had spun and jumped but no blood. I followed the running track into the field and then Chilly waved and pointed at the arrow fletching sticking out of the dirt. I went and picked it up it was covered in blood, it had impacted a good 15 yards past the buck and still had enough energy to bury it into the ground.
The rain was still holding off so we stook our time, and waited in the field where the the deer had entered the bush for another 10 minutes. I took one step into the underbrush at the edge of the field and found blood everywhere, but the bush was wet from the water filtering down from the canopy and I started to second guess my decision to shoot. One more step and more blood, lots of blood, I took a couple of more steps and said told Chilly the blood trail was very heavy and looked good. He was backing me up off to the side with his crowssbow and he said "I think that's a dead deer!".
I admonished him and said "Hey It's not dead till we find it!". Chilly laughed at me and said "Look Red... THATS A DEAD DEER! I looked up to see him pointing at the buck laying about fifteen feet from me.
Chilly stepped to the side and readied his bow while I poked him to make sure.
It was a nice year and a half with a funky little rack just big enough for Chilly to drag him with! We gutted him and found that the arrow had hit the heart but missed the lungs... we ranged the distance after at 54 yards!
It had turned into a good morning after all... and Dean and I went over the mornings events in detail while taking the deer to the butcher. We had both had deer moving around our stands and we were fortunate that the rain and the deer had both cooperated just long enough to ensure our success.
I did shoot what I thought was a fawn after letting the Doe walk by at 6:30 that evening at nine yards from a tree stand... it died immediately and was very anticlimactic compared to the morning hunt. We checked the teeth and it turned out to be a yearling doe... which is something I don't usually do early in the season.
But two deer on the opener was very satisfying to be sure.
